Leadership Development Council
Claudia Contreras
Council Member
​
Claudia Contreras went to Cal State Northridge and has a BA in political science with a minor in women studies. Her boyfriend of 6 years has Crohns and she loves being involved with his annual golf tournaments pre-pandemic.
Ritu Gaikwad
Council Member
​
Ritu Gaikwad has been an IBD patient since age 13. She has been involved in C to C for a while now, around 2 years, and has really enjoyed contributing to IBD fundraising and awareness and support for the greater patient community! She is a recent graduate of UCLA, with a BS in Neuroscience and currently applying to medical school in the hopes of being a future GI! She believes that nutrition and diet are also super important, and has been working on a South Asian cookbook project with the team here in an effort to spread awareness to other IBD patients.
Lowell Dylan
Council Member
​
Lowell Dylan lives in Los Angeles and was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease at the age of two. Lowell’s mother Stacy is the co-founder of Connecting to Cure Crohn’s and Colitis. Through 20 years of experience dealing with endless complications of his disease, Stacy been a great advocate and caretaker for his health and the health of other IBD patients and families. Lowell has learned about patient advocacy along the way. Lowell is a musician and a basketball coach.